Retractable cable and cable rewind spool configuration

ABSTRACT

A spool apparatus is described to include in one particular example a cable spool with a first cylindrical lip and a second cylindrical lip on an opposite side of the cable spool. A center of the spool includes a clutch bearing in the center of both the first cylindrical lip and the second cylindrical lip that provides a rotational axis for the cable spool to rotate around. The apparatus may also include a feed slot near the first cylindrical lip that provides a passage for cable to pass from the second cylindrical lip to the first cylindrical lip.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/379,035, filed Dec. 14, 2016, entitled RETRACTABLE CABLE AND CABLEREWIND SPOOL CONFIGURATION, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,680,262 on Jun.13, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/215,204, filed Jul. 20, 2016, entitled RETRACTABLE CABLE AND CABLEREWIND SPOOL CONFIGURATION, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,553,413 on Jan.24, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/061,781, filed Mar. 4, 2016, entitled RETRACTABLE CABLE AND CABLEREWIND SPOOL CONFIGURATION, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,425,563 on Aug.23, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/296,631, filed Jun. 5, 2014, entitled RETRACTABLE CABLE AND CABLEREWIND SPOOL CONFIGURATION, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,309,087 on Apr.12, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/837,279, filed Jun. 20, 2013, entitled RETRACTABLE CABLE ANDCABLE REWIND SPOOL CONFIGURATION, the entire contents of which areherein incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

This application relates to an apparatus for retracting a cable into acable spool and in particular to a cable rewinding spool that securelyholds the wound cable in a secure position.

BACKGROUND OF THE APPLICATION

Conventionally, cable spools are often passive and offer nofunctionality beyond a round body that a cable may be wound around inorder to store the cable until it requires unwinding. The process ofwinding and unwinding cable within spools requires flexibility andoptimization in order to provide quick and efficient access to thecoiled conduit provided on the spool. Additionally, the release of thecable and the ability to remove the cable from the spool, stop the cablefrom being removed and rewind the cable are all importantcharacteristics to be considered in an optimal cable spoolconfiguration.

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION

One embodiment of the present application may include an apparatus thatincludes a cable spool with a first cylindrical lip and a secondcylindrical lip on an opposite side of the cable spool and a clutchbearing in the center of both the first cylindrical lip and the secondcylindrical lip that provides a rotational axis for the cable spool torotate around, and a feed slot adjacent the first cylindrical lip thatprovides a passage for cable to pass from the second cylindrical lip tothe first cylindrical lip.

Another embodiment may include an apparatus that includes a cable spoolhousing including a back plate and a front plate, a cable spool with afirst cylindrical lip on a first side of the cable spool housing and asecond cylindrical lip on a second side of the cable spool housingopposite the first side and a cable wound around the first cylindricallip and the second cylindrical lip, and a clutch bearing in the centerof both the first cylindrical lip and the second cylindrical lip thatprovides a rotational axis for the cable spool to rotate around.

Another example embodiment may include an apparatus that includes afirst cable spool comprising a first cylindrical lip, a second cablespool affixed to an opposite side of the first spool comprising a secondcylindrical lip that is smaller in diameter than a diameter of the firstcylindrical lip, a clutch bearing in the center of both the firstcylindrical lip and the second cylindrical lip that provides arotational axis, and a feed slot contiguous with the first cylindricallip that provides a passage for cable to pass from the secondcylindrical lip to the first cylindrical lip.

Another example embodiment may include an apparatus that includes acable spool with a spool gear on an exterior surface of the cable spoolwhich rotates around a first clutch bearing, and a cable spool brakewith a second clutch bearing, and a toothed gear disposed on the secondclutch bearing that is in direct contact with the spool gear to regulatemovement of the cable spool and associated cable removal of cablewrapped around the cable spool.

Another example embodiment may include an apparatus that includes aclutch bearing, and a toothed gear disposed on the clutch bearing thatis in direct contact with a spool gear to regulate movement of a cablespool and associated cable removal of cable wrapped around the cablespool, and a spring biased release lever that regulates movement of thetoothed gear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example cable spool housing mounting device havingtwo mounted dual spools according to example embodiments of the presentapplication.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example front view of an individual dual spoolconfiguration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example rear view of an individual dual spoolconfiguration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example side internal view of an individual dualspool configuration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example front internal view of an individual dualspool configuration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example internal view of a cable spool housingmounting device having two mounted dual spools according to exampleembodiments of the present application.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example internal perspective of a rear view of thedual spool configuration according to example embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example internal perspective of a front view ofthe dual spool configuration according to example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentapplication, as generally described and illustrated in the figuresherein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following detailed description of theembodiments of an apparatus, and system configuration, as represented inthe attached figures, is not intended to limit the scope of theapplication as claimed, but is merely representative of selectedembodiments of the application.

The features, structures, or characteristics of the applicationdescribed throughout this specification may be combined in any suitablemanner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases“example embodiments”, “some embodiments”, or other similar language,throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the presentapplication. Thus, appearances of the phrases “example embodiments”, “insome embodiments”, “in other embodiments”, or other similar language,throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the samegroup of embodiments, and the described features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example cable spool housing mounting device havingtwo mounted dual spools according to example embodiments of the presentapplication. Referring to FIG. 1, the combination housing and dual spoolconfiguration 100 provides a housing 110 with an entrance portion 120and a slidable track 122 with two tracks which provides a restingsurface for the various dual spool devices 112 (114 and 116). More dualspool devices may be added to the housing so more cable can be madeavailable in the corresponding housing 110. The top of the dual spooldevices 114 and 116 have retractable cables affixed to electronicinterfaces 132 and 134, respectively (e.g., VGA, HDMI, serial cable,RCA, USB, etc.)

FIG. 2 illustrates an example front view of an individual dual spoolconfiguration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication. Referring to FIG. 2, the dual spool configuration 200provides a front perspective with an electronic communications interface(i.e., VGA) interface 119 at the end of the cable which is wound ontothe spool. Also, the dual spool device may also have a cylindrical lipthat provides a resting surface 124 for the cable to be wrapped around.The resting surface has two gaps 171 and 172 in its cylindrical surface.The center of the dual spool is a drive adaptor 126 that turns viacontact with a clutch bearing 127. The outside surface 123 provides aprotective layer that keeps other objects away from the coiled cable 120which is wrapped around the cylindrical lip 124 multiple times. Underthe lip 124 is a power spring/spool spring 125 (i.e., clock spring) thatis engaged to rewind the cable or wire 120 via a retractable force thatincreases proportionally to the amount that the spool is unwound in thesame direction as the cable is pulled from the spool. A spool supportingprotrusion 121 provides a way to secure the spool configuration to asupporting structure as illustrated in FIG. 1 and a resting surface forthe cable and corresponding interface 119. The VGA interface may beresting on a surface of the spool supporting protrusion 121 as it iskept firmly in place by the tension from power spring band 125 whichholds the cable in place.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example rear view of an individual dual spoolconfiguration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication. Referring to FIG. 3, the rear view perspective 300illustrates a pigtail cable 144 that feeds into the rear cylindrical lipon the backside or back plate 140 of the dual spool configurationopposite the front side or front plate. A diamond-shaped dampener 142controls the rewind rate of the spool. A hook or slot 143 provides analigned cable position for feeding the cable to the spool or removing itaccordingly. The dampener 142 connects to the spool through the clutchbearing 126 in the center of the spool permitting the spool to “freeturn” when unwinding, and then on the rewinding procedure, the clutchbearing 126 locks and drives the dampener 142 to control the rewindrate. In FIG. 3, the cable is exiting from the mount of the clutchbearing. This permits the cable to exit the unit while being affixed tothe unit with the “hook” 143.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example side internal view of an individual dualspool configuration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication. Referring to FIG. 4, the internal perspective 400 includesa center portion or drive adaptor 426, which the dual spool turns aroundin a circular motion 360 degrees. The first cylindrical lip 424 islarger in diameter than the second cylindrical lip 422 on the rear sideof the dual spool. The cable 420 may be wound around the secondcylindrical lip 422 and fed through to the front side to be also woundaround the first cylindrical lip 424. The first and second cylindricallips are on opposite sides of the dual spool body and are sizeddifferently. At least one of the cylindrical lips has a gap to allow thecable to pass through to the other side of the dual spool configuration(see gaps 171 and 172 FIG. 2). At the top of the spool configuration isa cable interface 441 and the cable 459 attached to the interface foreasy access to an electronic device.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example front internal view of an individual dualspool configuration according to example embodiments of the presentapplication. Referring to FIG. 5, the internal view 500 includes adriver adaptor 526 which turns the spool around a center axis via afriction reducing clutch bearing 528. A cylindrical lip having a smallerdiameter 522 is located on the rear side of the dual spool housing andhas cable coiled around it in a circular manner which is then fedthrough a feed slot 571 to the front of the dual spool which has acylindrical lip 524 with a larger diameter than that of the rear/smallercylindrical lip. The same cable piece may be continuously wrapped aroundboth the smaller and the larger cylindrical lips even though they are onopposite sides of the dual spool configuration.

The outside perimeter 539 of the larger cylindrical lip 524 includesmetallic gears (i.e., teeth) which mesh with a smaller gear 531. Thereare two clutch bearings one in the center of both spools 526, which isthe center wheel and which rides on a shaft that is connected to aclutch bearing portion which is also illustrated in FIG. 7. For example,drive adapter 726 is the axle on which the clutch bearing rotates. Thecenter, or ‘d-hole’ portion, of the dampener shaft is the drive adapter726. The other clutch bearing 533 is part of the brake configurationwhich includes the pivot arm 537, the release lever 529, the pivot armrotational spring 536 and the axle 535.

In operation, if a user is winding the cable, the spring 525 would bebiased to unwinding the cable all the time and may slow down theunwinding because of the dampener 142. When it is rewinding, it rewindsslowly because of the dampener 142 (see FIG. 3) and the correspondingconnection to the drive adapter 726 on the other side (see FIG. 7).

When unwinding or unrolling the spool, no dampener would result in thespool unwinding easily without exerted effort. A second clutch bearing533 is mounted inside the smaller gear 531. This second clutch bearing533 is on a “pivot arm” 537. There are 2 axles 533 and 535 on which thepivot arm 537 pivots. There is a rotational spring 536 (exaggerated forclarity) on the shaft of the pivot arm 537 which is biased between thepivot arm and the casing of the pivot arm, and the biasing keeps thesmall gear 531 engaged with the larger gear 539 for biasing downwardstoward the larger gear 539 in a clockwise rotational direction.

There is an axle that passes through the pivot arm 537 and through theclutch bearing 533 and out through the other end of the pivot arm 537.The axle is locked to the pivot arm so it will not rotate since it isthe axle for the clutch bearing 533 for that gear 531 on which it spins.In one direction, the gear 531 will not turn as it locks the largerwheel gear 539 and in the other it turns freely.

In operation, the wheel and gear 539 will turn clockwise and unwind theyellow flat cable, and in turn, the little gear 531 will turn counterclockwise and allow a user to freely pull the cable out of the spool asit is attached to an electronics adaptor 541. The gears 531 and 539 areoperating on clutch bearings 533 and 528 so if a user were to stoppulling the spool won't rewind since the little gear is engaged andlocked. However, in order to rewind, the lever or handle 529 may bepushed for biasing the pivot arm 537 counter-clockwise and disengagingthe small gear 531.

In FIG. 8, when unwind cable 822, may turn clockwise up to six times,for example, before it is fully extended. In FIG. 7, the wire is woundtight in the smaller diameter of the spool and is tucked into theopening to the larger diameter on the other side. As the wheel turnsclockwise, it unspools into a bigger diameter on the same side, itunrolls into a bigger diameter so the cable can unwind on one sidewithout twisting and turning on the other side.

The individual spool configuration also includes a brake configurationthat includes the clutch bearing 533 and the spring 536 biased releaselever. The clutch bearing 533 may be in contact with the cable toprovide a breaking mechanism to reduce the slipping or undesiredmovement of the cabling or at least reduce the movement via a dampeningcoefficient.

According to one example embodiment, a cable spool housing such as theexamples in FIGS. 2 and 3 may include a back plate and a front plate.The cable spool may have a dual spool configuration with a firstcylindrical lip on a first side of the cable spool housing and a secondcylindrical lip on a second side of the cable spool housing opposite thefirst side, and a cable wound around the first cylindrical lip and thesecond cylindrical lip. A clutch bearing in the center of both the firstcylindrical lip and the second cylindrical lip may provide a rotationalaxis for the cable spool to rotate around when the cable is being woundinto the spool or unwound from the spool. The dual spool configurationmay include a feed slot contiguous with the first cylindrical lip thatprovides a passage for cable to pass from the second cylindrical lip tothe first cylindrical lip. The first cylindrical lip may have a longerdiameter than a diameter of the second cylindrical lip. A drive adaptormay be disposed through the clutch bearing to turn freely while thecable is being unwound from the spool and to lock when a rewindingmovement of the spool is initiated.

A power spring band 125 may be affixed at a first end to an interiorsurface inside an area of the first cylindrical lip 124 and affixed at asecond end to the clutch bearing 126, and the power spring band may becomprised of an elastic material that extends as the cable spool isrotated. A spool supporting protrusion 121 extending from a body of thecable spool housing may include an electronic data interface 119 affixedto one end of the cable and resting against an orifice and restingsurface 129 in the spool supporting protrusion. The electronic datainterface may be at least one of a video graphics adaptor (VGA), auniversal serial bus (USB) interface and a high definition multimediainterface (HDMI). A dampener 142 may be affixed to the back plate of thespool housing in direct contact with the clutch bearing to reducerotational speed of the spool. A brake may be part of the housing andmay include another clutch bearing 533 and a spring biased release lever539 that regulates movement of the clutch bearing to reduce undesiredmovement of the cable. The brake may also include a toothed gear 531that is in direct contact with an outer gear 539 of the spool and whichis rotated around the clutch bearing 533. The brake also includes apivot arm 537, and the spring biased release lever 529 is in directcontact with the pivot arm 537 and causes the pivot arm to stop movementof the toothed gear 531 when the spring biased release lever is in aclosed position. Or, to permit movement of the toothed gear 531 when thespring biased release lever is in an open position.

Another example embodiment includes a cable spool with a spool gear 539on an exterior surface of the cable spool which rotates around a firstclutch bearing 528, and a cable spool brake that includes a secondclutch bearing 533, a toothed gear 531 disposed on the second clutchbearing that is in direct contact with the spool gear to regulatemovement of the cable spool and associated cable removal of cablewrapped around the cable spool. The cable spool brake further includes aspring biased release lever that regulates movement of the toothed gear.The cable spool brake further includes a pivot arm 537, and the springbiased release lever 529 which is in direct contact with the pivot armand causes the pivot arm to stop movement of the toothed gear 531 whenthe spring biased release lever is in a closed position. The cable spoolbrake further includes a pivot arm, and the spring biased release leveris in direct contact with the pivot arm and causes the pivot arm topermit movement of the toothed gear when the spring biased release leveris in an open position. The pivot arm is attached to a first axle 535and a second axle (with clutch bearing 533) and pivots around the firstaxle 535 when the spring biased release lever is shifted to make contactwith the pivot arm. The toothed gear 531 rotates around the secondaxle/clutch bearing 533 which is also attached to the pivot arm. Adiameter of the second clutch bearing 533 is smaller than a diameter ofthe first clutch bearing 528 at the center of the spool gear. The springbiased release lever is shifted via a depression actuation performed ata top portion of the spring biased release lever. A user may press thelever like a button to start and/or stop the movement of the spool gearand the exiting or unraveling of the cabling. The depression actuationof the spring biased release lever causes the pivot arm to engage thetoothed gear with the spool gear.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example internal view of a cable spool housingmounting device 600 having two mounted dual spools according to exampleembodiments of the present application. Referring to FIG. 6, the housing110 has two dual spool devices 114 and 116 suspended by the securingtrack 122 and their respective securing mechanisms. The adaptors 119 areconnected to the cabling 159 in the spools for ready access to aconnection to a separate electronic computing device.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example internal perspective 700 of a rear view ofthe dual spool configuration according to example embodiments. Referringto FIG. 7, the rear view perspective 700 illustrates various layers ofcable coiled around the smaller cylindrical lip 722 and which eventuallyfees through a feed slot 720 to the opposite side of the dual spooldevice so it may continue to be coiled around the larger cylindrical lipof the same dual spool device. The drive adaptor 726 is used to drivethe spool so it may be unwound or rewound depending on the present usepurposes. The clutch bearing 728 offers the drive adaptor 726 a frictionreducing way to turn the spool freely and with ease. In operation, whilethe other side of the dual spool is unwinding the rear side may uncoiland feed the larger diameter cylindrical lip to provide additional cableand the inner pigtail source of cable feeds out through the stationaryhousing. The drive adaptor 726 may be configured to turn freely whileunwinding occurs and lock when rewinding to drive the dampening unit.The outer or primary winding on the front side of the dual spoolconfiguration is used for cable extension and retraction. In the startposition, both the inner and outer windings on opposite sides of thedual spool configuration are wound tight to their respective smalldiameters. The inner (secondary) winding is wound on the smallstationary diameter on the fixed wall, which permits the proximalcable-end to exit in a non-rotating fashion. The distal end of thesecondary winding is affixed at the larger diameter on the front side,which then feeds through the center wall to become the primary winding.When the outer winding is unwound or extracted, the inner winding alsounwinds, but to a larger diameter. As a result, one length of cable canunwind without the proximal end turning as it exits the dual spoolconfiguration.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example internal perspective of a front view ofthe dual spool configuration according to example embodiments. Referringto FIG. 8, the front side of the dual spool configuration illustratesvarious layers of coiled cable 822 resting on the larger cylindrical lip824 of the front portion of the dual spool configuration. The clutchbearing 828 is also the center point for this and the opposite side ofthe dual spool configuration. In operation, as this side unwinds, thespool rotates on a center axis through the same clutch bearing. Theclutch turns freely while unwinding, however, during rewinding thebearing locks and turns the dampening unit.

It will be readily understood that the components of the application, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended tolimit the scope of the application as claimed, but is merelyrepresentative of selected embodiments of the application.

Therefore, although the application has been described based upon thesepreferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those of skill in the artthat certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructionswould be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of theapplication. In order to determine the metes and bounds of theapplication, therefore, reference should be made to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a cable spool; and adrive adaptor configured to turn while a cable is unwound from the cablespool and to lock while the cable spool is rewound.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the cable spool includes a first cylindrical lip on afirst side of a cable spool housing and a second cylindrical lip on asecond side of the cable spool housing, wherein the cable is woundaround the first cylindrical lip and the second cylindrical lip, andwherein a clutch bearing is at a center of both the first cylindricallip and the second cylindrical lip.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe first cylindrical lip has a longer diameter than a diameter of thesecond cylindrical lip.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprisinga feed slot contiguous with the first cylindrical lip that provides apassage for the cable to pass from the second cylindrical lip to thefirst cylindrical lip.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising apower spring band affixed at a first end to an interior surface insidean area of the first cylindrical lip and affixed at a second end to theclutch bearing, and wherein the power spring band is comprised of anelastic material that extends as the cable spool is rotated.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a spool supporting protrusionextending from a body of a cable spool housing.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6, further comprising an electronic data interface affixed to oneend of the cable and resting against an orifice in the spool supportingprotrusion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electronic datainterface is at least one of a video graphics adaptor (VGA), a universalserial bus (USB) interface and a high definition multimedia interface(HDMI).
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a cable spool housingcomprises a front plate.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a cablespool housing comprises a back plate.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10,further comprising a dampener affixed to the back plate of the spoolhousing in direct contact with a clutch bearing to reduce rotationalspeed of the spool.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising abrake including another clutch bearing and a spring biased release leverthat regulates movement of a clutch bearing to reduce undesired movementof the cable.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the brake furthercomprises a toothed gear that is in direct contact with an outer gear ofthe spool and which is rotated around the another clutch bearing. 14.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the brake further comprises a pivotarm, wherein the spring biased release lever is in direct contact withthe pivot arm and causes the pivot arm to stop movement of the toothedgear when the spring biased release lever is in a closed position. 15.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the brake further comprises a pivotarm, and wherein the spring biased release lever is in direct contactwith the pivot arm and causes the pivot arm to permit movement of thetoothed gear when the spring biased release lever is in an openposition.
 16. An apparatus, comprising: a first cable spool including afirst cylindrical lip; and a second cable spool affixed to an oppositeside of the first cable spool including a second cylindrical lip;wherein a cable is configured to move from the second cylindrical lip tothe first cylindrical lip.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, furthercomprising a clutch bearing in the center of both the first cylindricallip and the second cylindrical lip that provides a rotational axis and adrive adaptor configured to turn freely while the cable is being unwoundfrom the spool and to lock when a rewinding movement of the spool isinitiated, and wherein the drive adaptor is positioned inside the clutchbearing.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a powerspring band affixed at a first end to an interior surface inside an areaof the first cylindrical lip and affixed at a second end to the clutchbearing, and wherein the power spring band is comprised of an elasticmaterial that extends as the first cable spool and the second cablespool are rotated.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising anelectronic data interface affixed to one end of the cable and restingagainst an orifice in a supporting protrusion affixed to the first cablespool and the second cable spool.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, whereinthe electronic data interface is at least one of a video graphicsadaptor (VGA), a universal serial bus (USB) interface and a highdefinition multimedia interface (HDMI).